I'm Sorry
by lena77905
Summary: Short Nightwing/Reader oneshot set during Arkham Knight, when Nightwing is captured


(A/N This is set in at the time of Arkham Knight, when Nightwing is captured by Penguin. I don't own any of these characters apart from the main)

I shoved open the doors of Alfred's study and winced as he jumped up in surprise. I hated to scare the man, but some things were more important.

"Alfred, where's Dick? If you don't know, that's fine, but I was wondering if you had any idea.", I asked. Could he hear the nerves in my voice? I certainly could.

He sighed and shot a sympathetic look my way. "Miss, I don't believe I am the most suited to inform you on this matter. Would you mind waiting here while I call Master Tim? He will be more than happy to explain, I'm sure."

I nodded and forced a smile as he turned to the computer and called up a video feed of Tim. I tried not to be nosy, but I did manage to spot Barbara in the background. I could only see half her face, bathed in blue light. She looked like she was concentrating… and worried.

"Hi, Alfred. Have you found anything out? Is Nig-"

Alfred cut Tim off before he could go any further. I'd never seen him do anything like that before. It was uncharacteristic and, judging by the way his eyes darted to me, Tim knew it too.

He grinned and said, "Oh, hi. How are you?", I made an indistinguishable noise and shrugged. Meaning, worried about Dick. He'd been in and out of the manor all night, but never for this long - and he always managed to reply to my texts within five minutes.

"Do you need me to come over?", Tim continued.

"If it's convenient, Master Tim. I think you would be able to better explain the situation to Miss than I would. I'll unlock the door now." Alfred replied. After a hurried goodbye, he closed the video feed and walked out of the room with a kindly apology.

I wish he had stayed. Being lonely left me to my thoughts; that meant worrying about Dick. In all the time we'd been friends, he'd never disappeared so suddenly and for so long. Sometimes I wouldn't see him for days on end, but I'd at least get a text or a phone call or a stupid selfie.

What if he'd been attacked on the street? Almost everyone left in the city was a thug, militia or a lackey, and Dick was strong but I didn't fancy his chances on his own. Oh God, what if he'd been killed? I should have kept an eye on him!

For what seemed like hours, I hunched over in the leather seat and hoped that Dick was okay. But when Alfred returned, followed by Tim, I glanced at the clock and narrowed my eyes.

"That was quick", I smirked, "Almost as quick as you are to embarrass yourself."

"You spend far much time around Dick, you know? He's a bad influence. Speaking of that idiot, we need to talk. Come on", Tim retorted. He led the way out of the room and into the corridor. I almost expected Dick to pop out - Surprise! I only did this to scare you! Ha, you believed it!

Sadly, that didn't happen.

"So. Dick. You. This.", he began.

I could feel a bubble of tension growing in my chest, pressing against my lungs and making it difficult to breathe.

"Oh, wow, I don't know how to tell you this. Uhh… you've noticed how Dick, and me, and Bruce, we seem to disappear quite a lot? And Barbara always seems to know what's going on before everyone else?", Tim asked. He was staring right at me. I nodded.

"Look, it's not just because we're busy. And don't believe Dick, it's not because he's meeting friends. He doesn't have any, for God's sake. Well… this is a bombshell, but it's true. Bruce Wayne is Batman. I'm Robin. Barbara's Oracle. You've heard of all these 'superheroes', right?"

Swallowing thickly, I replied that I did.

"Well, Dick… He's Nightwing. It's hard to believe, I know. But think about it. He's strong. Agile. Acrobatic. Smart. Arrogant. All the stuff you need to be a superhero."

I staggered backwards, reeling. Tim was well known to play tricks, but this seemed real. It explained everything: it made everything worse.

Once I'd got my voice back, I said in a strangled voice, "Nightwing was kidnapped earlier. I heard Barbara talking about it. An hour ago, Penguin got him. Oh God, oh God, please tell me he's okay!"

Tim just shook his head. "Bruce… Batman is looking for him. Last I heard, he was about to break in and find Dick. But I can't promise you anything."

At those words, I broke down completely. I hadn't even realised that tears were streaming from my eyes, but now they were coming full force and forcing themselves from my body in great sobs. Tim wrapped one arm around me and held me still while I cried. I'm certain that I heard a quiet sob come from him as well.

"Master Tim, I take it you have explained the circumstances? Yes? In that case, you may wish to know that Master Richard has arrived and is waiting in my study. I'll leave you both to talk to him."

My head snapped up at Alfred's words and I felt Tim breathe a sigh of relief as well. We walked together to the door of the study, but before we could go in, Tim spoke quietly.

"Do you mind if I go in first? By myself? I need to talk to him. It'll only take two minutes, and then I'll let you have him all to yourself. How lucky you are."

With a light slap on the arm, I sent him in and leaned against the wall, trying to think of what I was even going to say to Dick when I went in. However, I was distracted when I heard raised voices from inside the study and then a noise that sounded like a punch.

Tim stalked out, rubbing his knuckles and a furious expression on his face. He clapped me on the shoulder just a little too hard before quickly walking down the stairs.

Oh God, what if Dick wasn't okay?

I pushed down my fears and opened the door cautiously. I didn't know what I expected to find, but this was a thousand times worse.

Dick had blood seeping from one corner of his mouth and ugly yellow bruises covering his face. His hair was matted with sweat and blood. I almost couldn't bear to look. But the longer I did, the angrier I became, the more I understood why Tim had left a huge red mark and a fresh nosebleed on Dick's face.

The worst part was, he just stood there with this awful smirk on his face, like he hadn't just been kidnapped and nearly killed.

All of a sudden, I found myself lunging at him, desperately trying to scratch, punch, slap, anything that I could.

"No hello?", he laughed, holding my arms away from him.

"Fine. Hello, _Nightwing_. How are you? Bit beaten up? Good, you deserve it.", I hissed furiously. I didn't think I'd ever been so angry. The shock and hurt read on his face. "Oh, how am I? Well, I've been spending the past hour and a half trying not to kill myself thinking that you were dead! Nice of you to ask!"

He tried to speak but I continued, my voice growing louder with each word.

"How could you be so careless? Let yourself get caught? What if you had died, Nightwing?"

He finally managed to talk.

"I'm sorry, but I'm fine, I'm fine, stop worrying."

"Stop worrying? Fine. I'll stop worrying about you, Dick. And you can stop worrying about me. Because if you ever come near me again I will kill you. I swear to God, I will murder you."

And then I turned and walked away, towards the door and away from the best and worst friend I'd ever had. When I felt his large hand grab mine, I shook it off, but when he grabbed my wrist and pulled me towards him, I stopped struggling.

He was still holding on to my wrist. "I'm sorry.", he whispered. And then he pressed his bruised lips against mine as though I was the last thing he would ever get to kiss, and I kissed him back, closing my eyes while his other hand wrapped around my neck and pulled me even closer.

When we finally broke apart, he rested his forehead against mine and looked at me closely. He only said one thing.

"I'm sorry that I almost lost you."


End file.
